Santa Anita Shifting to Five Days in March by Blood-Horse StaffDate Posted: 2/22/2011 3:45:48 PMLast Updated: 2/24/2011 11:18:36 AM

Santa AnitaPhoto:
Benoit Photography

Pending approval from the California Horse Racing Board, Santa Anita will remain on a four-day race week schedule through March 20 and will transition to a five-day race week beginning Wednesday, March 23. The five-day race week would remain in effect through closing day, April 17.

Santa Anita’s 76-day winter/spring meeting began on Dec. 26, and with exception of holiday Mondays, racing has been conducted on a Thursday through Sunday basis. Santa Anita had originally planned to run five days a week beginning March 2, but due to a variety of factors, Santa Anita has opted to remain on a four-day schedule for the first three weeks in March.

A number of big races have yet to be run at the current meeting, including the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) March 5, and the $1 million Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) April 9.